There is ample need for heat relief for humans in a hot ambient. In some cases heat relief provides merely comfort, e.g., in home, office, or car air conditioning. In other cases heat relief is a necessity for proper functioning of the human body, e.g., during re-entry of astronauts, during mine worker's rescue missions, and for fighter pilots in confined cockpits.
The metabolic rate of a human at rest is about 100 Watts, and it increases to about 300 Watts under a heavy work load. This additional energy generation rate is being dissipated to the environment mainly by the evaporation of perspiration. Excessive sweating leads to dehydration and loss of salts from the body, causing exhaustion.
In severe cases heat relief has been provided by specially designed garments containing a circulating cooling liquid, viz., "Water Cooled Garments: A Review", by Sarah A. Nunneley, published in Space Life Sciences 2 (1970) 335-360.
In less severe cases of merely providing comfort, such as in room air conditioning, there is an urgent need to conserve energy.
Tourists in hot countries, and outdoor manual workers in a hot ambient, e.g., construction workers in desert areas, would greatly benefit by personalized cooling means for comfort and increased work efficiency. The liquid cooled garments which are commercially available, e.g., from ILC Dover Corporation, Frederica, Del., are clearly unsuitable for these applications.
The present energy shortage requires energy savings. A major energy consumer is the air conditioning of entire enclosures, such as rooms, offices, and automobiles. Only a small fraction of this cooling is consumed by the inhabitants. By providing personalized cooling a very significant energy saving could be achieved.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a simple personalized cooling means.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a convenient garment providing cooling to the wearer.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a cooling garment powered by a portable power source affixed to the garment of the wearer.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a cooling garment powered by solar cells carried by the wearer.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a cooling garment powered by portable rechargeable batteries in combination with transportable solar power means to recharge these batteries.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a cooling garment or accessory which can be transformed into a heating garment or accessory by reversing the polarity of the current which activates said garment or accessory.
These and other objectives will become clear from the following brief description of the invention and its preferred embodiments.